27 killed in cross-border attacks: Kunar police chief

ASADABAD (PAN): Twenty-seven people have been killed and 42 others wounded in recent Pakistani incursions into eastern Kunar province, officials claimed on Monday.

A day earlier, President Hamid Karzai said media reports about Pakistani shelling of Afghan areas were exaggerated. Reports about casualties and property damage were played up, he added.  

However, Kunar officials said Pakistani forces had fired hundreds of arterially shells into Afghan villages since May, inflicting huge financial losses on residents.

Provincial police chief, Brig. Gen. Awaz Mohammad Nazari, told Pajhwok Afghan News Pakistani forces had fired around 1,591 rounds into the province over the past six months, killing 27 people and injuring another 42.

Seven houses and two mosques were also destroyed in the attacks, he alleged. Rockets fired by Pakistani forces had also inflicted huge losses on residents living in villages on the Pakistani border, he said.

Nearly 100 animals perished in the cross-border shelling, the police chief claimed, saying they had a completed record of the missiles fired into Kunar.

He added they had received the information from the Operational Coordination Centre (OCCP). “Also, we have credible information where these rounds have landed.”

The Narai district chief, Gul Zaman, said 82 rounds fired from Pakistan had landed in the town. The attacks killed six members of a family and injured nine others, he added.

Provincial council member, Syed Sikandar Shah Bacha, said the Pakistani forces shelled border districts, including Narai, Ghaziabad, Dangam, Asmar, Shegal, Marawara, Sarkano and Khas Kunar.

“We are public representatives. Therefore, we visited the affected areas and talked to people there about the attacks,” he said, rejecting Karzai’s statement that media reports had been exaggerated.

A resident of Narai district, Haji Manan Ayubi, alleged Pakistani forces were firing rockets into the district almost on a daily bases. He said his two relatives had fallen victim to the assaults, which resulted in injuries to four others.

“It is beyond our understanding why Karzai is reluctant to take action over the attacks, which are known to the world,” the resident said.

A day earlier, Meshrano Jirga members condemned the attacks, calling on the government to respond effectively to such aggression.

ma/mud